Virgin Galactic has brought a test astronaut up to what can be called the threshold of space.
And at the same time, the US space agency NASA gives the go-ahead for a first test flight of Space X's new shuttle to the International Space Station (ISS).
The article is about: Jeff Bezos Elon Musk Richard Branson Space Virgin Galactic SpaceX
”A journey that is impossible to describe,” says Beth Moses, astronaut instructor at Virgin Galactic, and the one who had the honor of test-flying the Unity capsule at Friday's launch.
”Richard, you’re going to love it,” she adds, referring to Virgin CEO Richard Branson, who has said he himself will be one of the first passengers when the company’s charter flights to space begin soon.
Unity is first lifted into the air by an aircraft, and then flies on its own to an altitude of about ninety miles above the Earth's surface. There, it is approximately on the Kármán line, an imaginary boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and space.
Hundreds of people, including celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Bieber, have pre-booked tickets – which cost about $250,000 (2.3 million kronor) each – for the Spaceship 2 vehicles, of which Unity is one.
Branson is involved in a race with, among others, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' company Blue Origin and Elon Musk's counterpart Space X to accelerate space tourism.
All have vehicles in some form of testing phase, and may start operating in earnest later this year.
Space X may have an advantage in that the company already runs cargo capsules to the International Space Station (ISS), and may soon also start transporting passengers there.
The ISS is located well beyond the Kármán line, about 400 miles above the Earth's surface, so getting there is more advanced.
This is also evident in the "ticket prices" Russia has been able to charge since the US retired its space shuttles. According to media reports, Russian Roscosmos charges over $80 million (750 million SEK) per seat to and from the ISS.
But on Friday, Space X received final approval from NASA to test-drive the Crew Dragon capsule to the ISS. The test flight, when Dragon will be empty, is scheduled for next weekend.
This puts Space X one step ahead of Boeing, which is the main competitor for ISS transport. Boeing's CST-100 Starliner passenger capsule is also planned for test flights soon, but no date has been set.
Source: TT
